Intoxication...

We had our annual Pharmacy pubcrawl last Friday evening. We had huge attendance from 4th years as it was virtually our last pubcrawl. The shirts were alright. Pale light green is one colour I don't have in my wardrobe.

The event started at a pool lounge at 6pm (too early to be drinking by my standards) but I had meetings the whole day and needed to get myself freshened up. Drank a can of Red Bull to reduce my fatigue (since the more tired you are the easier it is to feel the effects of the alcohol). It really does give you wings! It contains taurine and is supposed to be an energy drink. I felt better after the drink. Could have been a placebo effect though.

Anyways, I went for dinner with friends after that and proceeded to join the pubcrawl from the 2nd stop. There were 2 games being played. One of them involved clothes pegs. If you were pegged for more than 5 seconds you would have to consume all of the drink you are holding. Another one was the toy soldiers game (though I didn't see any) where you would have to consume all of your drink if a toy soldier was found in it. Anyways, things didn't really take off until the last two stops.

Our 3rd stop was highly anticipated as the drinks were outrageously cheap. Imagine a mere $1 for vodka shots or mixes and $8 for jugs of beer. Needless to say, the bar was packed. I'm sure I waited in line for more than half an hour just to get my drinks ordered. By this time a few of my friends were starting to get tipsy.

On the way to the final stop I was on the receiving end of some minor violence from a certain female friend. After all the effort by womens' movements to advocate equality between the sexes and demand equal treatment; you tend to wonder why guys are still reluctant to engage in any acts of violence against women and even if they do, are very harshly punished. Regardless, the final stop was the most interesting if not troublesome. It was interesting learning about a new type of drink known as Jäger bombs. The drink consists of two parts. A shot glass filled with Jägermeister and a tall glass filled halfway with an energy drink (in this case, Red Bull). What you basically do is drop the shot glass into the tall glass thus mixing the drinks together. I know you might as well just mix the drinks without dropping the glass in but it's fun! Just like taking a tequila shot with the salt and lemon.

Alright, I'm digressing. But anyways, the girls seemed to be getting more and more tipsy and this eventually culminated in erratic behaviour from most of them. One of my friends was getting loud and physical. Another one spilt beer on my jeans. Yet about 2 or 3 others were just sobbing away together in a corner. I had my fair share of drinks but I don't get drunk very easily (I may be arrogant but it's true!). One of my friends is allergic to alcohol (oh cruel life!) and had to bear the brunt of helping take care of her intoxicated friends. She was assisted by some other sober friends. The main task was convincing the drunkards that it was time to leave and then making sure they had transport home accompanied by a trusted sober person. We got there in the end. Took a long time though. The remaining bunch were merely tipsy so we just brought the whole group to a pizza house which was originally meant to be the stop after the final stop (which if you think about it doesn't make the final stop final now does it?). Had a couple of games of foosball and shared 2 family sized pizzas to end the day. Eventually the rest went home and I managed to get home as well.

When we start drinking, it's very easy to forget the trouble we cause to those who aren't drinking. I'm not only talking about designated drivers. I'm also talking about those who have to worry about the safety of the drunks and ensure nothing untowardly happens to them. A tiresome task especially for those who don't drink. The awkward thing is that I drink but am still involved in the "carer" process almost every time. I still remember our first election victory party in 2004. I was almost drunk but still brought myself to ensuring that everyone had some way of getting home from the bar. Oh well, better that than living through a feeling of remorse if something bad happens to anyone.

In the end, the pubcrawl was pretty fun. It did get a little out of control though. I felt that it wasn't very appealing to see most of the girls intoxicated. It's just not cool. It's not the fact that girls got drunk. It's the fact that so many of them did. A rare reversal of roles in that virtually none of the guys in our group got drunk. Oh well, hopefully they'll know better to take care of themselves in future. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a hypocrite. I've been drunk before as well. It's just the context. It's not good to get drunk in an environment where your safety is at risk. This was one of those environments. Too many weirdos around. Enough complaining, no one was hurt. Let's hope it stays that way in future.

Life's a beach...

Yesterday, I went to the beach again. I went last Monday because it was a holiday. I went yesterday because a couple of my friends simply had nothing better to do. We just went and came back on one bus ticket (i.e. within 2 hours). No particular reason for going. Just took the opportunity to enjoy life. Managed to catch the sunset as well. It's always good to take a break from my hectic life. It's sort of like pausing for a recharge. Nothing better than to stop and smell the roses. Or listen to the waves in this instance

I spent the rest of yesterday tidying up my CV. I just can't reduce it to two pages. There are too many things that I feel are vital. It looks good though. I've covered almost every aspect possible. Academic, extra-curricular and even sports. I'll need to start using it soon so it was good to finally finish it up. I mean, I had it ready before but there were gaps etc. Now it's perfect and complete with a referee each for my academia and for my work.

Went for a careers expo organised by my uni at the convention centre. I went only because I was told by some of my postgraduate colleagues that there would be a lot of companies there and that there was the possibility of job offers. I thought it wouldn't do harm so I went. It was disappointing though because there weren't any pharmaceutical companies. Nevertheless I made the most out of the situation by picking up loads of freebies along the way! One of the things I took was a yellow Optus grocey bag. Yellow isn't one of my favourite colours but I've started to grow attached to it since it became the colour that is synonymous with my political faction. I did get some advice though from one of the uni staff members I know. She was saying that my experience in my role as President of the Students Association would have given me skills in policy development and things like that which would suit well in the public sector or with the government. It's always an option. However, my main priority is to get registered once I graduate. Then what I do next can depend on what I'm interested in.

Had a counselling test today. It's funny. We've been having these sorts of tests throughout our degree. Yet, everyone gets so nervous preparing for them. Surely you'd expect us to be confident now more than ever before? I never take too much time preparing for these as the main hurdle is being able to speak. I can do that. The only issue is always forgetting what to ask or say at the crunch time. Oh well, at least I'm almost done and over with these tests.

I forgot to mention that the book I requested from my uni library on another campus arrived in my campus yesterday as well. It's The Divine Comedy by Dante. I was hoping for the complete collection but realised that the book I had was only the Inferno. A story of Dante's trip through hell. A piece of literature that has proved invaluable in shaping certain teachings about hell. I can't wait to finish reading it. Then I can proceed with his other two masterpiece works; Purgatorio and Paradiso. I'm sure you don't need to understand the language to be able to discern what those 2 books are about.

There's still a lot of things for me to do. Added to that, exams are about 3 weeks away. My principle is to just take things one step at a time. At least that way, I'm getting things done but am still able to enjoy life along the way!

Aussie State Elections...

It's amazing how much the political structure of different countries vary between each other. In Australia, there are two levels of government. The State Government and the Federal Government. The two aren't proportionally related. What I mean is that they are not run concurrently. In addition, all the State elections are carried out according to the term in each state. South Australia and Tasmania had theirs just the past Saturday. The other states have theirs at different times; some next year and yet others the year after. Even stranger in my opinion is that a particular party may have won the State Governments in each State but still the Federal Government may be won by another party. It's as if the State and Federal levels of goverment exist independently of each other. The way it currently stands is that all the State Goverments are run by the Labor Party whereas the Federal Government is run by the Coalition; consisting of Liberals and Nationals.

For some reason, the people of Australia trust both parties on different levels. Here in SA, the Labor Party won another term but this time with a majority government in their own right (previously they were a minority government and relied on Independents and a National to stay in power). They completely obliterated the Liberal Party. Quite strange since at a Federal level, the Liberals crushed Labor. There wasn't much doubt here in SA though. Everyone knew months before the elections who the winner would be. There was just no contest. The surprising thing about this elections was not only how badly the Liberals lost; but also the composition of the Upper House in State Parliament. An Independent candidate named Nick Xenophon won 2 and a half quotas. This means he is guaranteed 2 if not 3 people on his "ticket" a seat in the Upper House. An amazing feat seeing that none of the political parties put him on their ticket and he would not have gotten preference flows. I saw him while walking around Rundle Mall on Sunday; the day after the elections. He was wearing one of those sandwich boards with the words "Thank You" in the front and back. Ever the stuntman.

I'm not sure of the political climate in Tasmania but Labor won there as well with a majority Government. It seems to me that Labor hasn't put a foot wrong at State level. A stark contrast to how they are faring at the Federal level. I guess the states are crucial for them to hold on to in order to avoid being wiped off the political battlefield.

Nothing much to comment about. Just felt the urge to comment on the State elections. I can't vote since I'm an international student but even if I did it wouldn't have made much difference in this instance. Still I like the system here better as it allows for more democracy. A party may control the Lower House but not the Upper House thus allowing for more accountability of actions. Governments change based on how they performed and the satisfaction level of the people. Now if only such democracy existed in my home country. Would things be different? Would I be here where I am today? Who knows...

St. Patrick's Day...

Well, the usual happened. Green beer and lots of drinking. Not on my part though! Anyways, I wanted to join in our campus activities but instead had to attend a meeting with the stupid university regarding VSU. As usual there were the "negotiating" arguments. Regardless, I wasn't very happy missing out on the festivities and cheap green beer.

At night I went out with some friends down the East End to check out the street party. It wasn't too bad. Nothing special though. Just a band playing in front of PJ O'Briens; our local Irish pub. While walking away from it after a while, we stopped by the new chocolate shop. I didn't feel that there was as good a selection as Chocolate Bean. Nevertheless, I ordered a Chocolate Mud Sandwich which didn't have much chocolate at all. Just white chocolate and a lot of different fruits and unidentifiable ingredients. The taste was great though. A splash of flavours in the mouth.

Everyone headed back to my place where we played games till aout 6am. You can imagine how groggy I feel now. I usually use my weekends to catch up on lost sleep but today I had less sleep than I get on weekdays.

I tend to wonder how certain religious celebrations can turn into a non-religious celebration. We see it with St. Patrick's Day, Christmas and even Easter. All Catholic holidays which eventually become so secularised that people forget its religious ties. Christmas is more about presents and trees and Santa Claus instead of the birth of Jesus Christ. St. Patrick's Day has become more of drinking than the celebration of a Saint. Easter has become more about eggs and bunnies rather than the Resurrection of Jesus. A clear example of the increasing secularisation of modern society. Everyone is more interested in the fanciful things associated with the celebration rather than the main reasons behind the celebration. Such a pity.

When will humans learn? Pleasure and quick-fixes won't lead to happiness. Hard to imagine no? How can one not be happy with a lot of money and worldly posessions? Oh well, that's why religions exist. To guide us down the proper path. I'm sure there are still a lot of people around the world saying a prayer through St. Patrick; the patron saint of Ireland. At least there's still some hope left in this crazy world.

Ethnic cleansing...

Alright, I know I just posted a couple of hours ago. It's bedtime but I just can't get myself to sleep yet. I was just scanning through the front page of Wikipedia when I thought about a topic I could rattle on about here. This will be controversial and bound to offend some people but what's life without a little controversy? Makes it more interesting I say.

Anyways, you've probably read from the papers or watched on TV the news that former Yugoslav leader, Slobodan Milosevic has died in his prison cell. He had been in trial on charges of war crimes in The Hague. The gist of the charges brought against him were for the killing of people based on racial/ethnic/religious grounds. For the sake of my argument, I'll just use the term ethnic cleansing.

We've seen ethnic cleansing occur on more than one occasion. Another popular example is Hitler's pursuit of Aryan superiority. Basically all of these pursuits ended up in a particular group of people being persecuted and killed. Now what's the whole problem? Obviously, the killings. The taking away of life. Then again, were these killings really that bad? Bear with me here.

Humans are a very diverse species. Our genetics are so variable among populations we can find huge differences in people by merely crossing a border. It is without doubt then that lifestyles and cultures vary between populations. Now, there exist certain population groups (wrongly classified as ethnic groups because ethnicity itself varies based on the setting. e.g. a Malaysian Chinese is very much different from an Australian Chinese) which I term as scum of the earth. I'm not trying to be racist or prejudiced. However I'm sure you'll agree that certain groups are basically a pain in the behind (a gross understatement). I can think of particular group that lives off other groups and elevate themselves above other groups merely based on special priviledges rather than based on their capabilities. They are a group who are lazy and corrupt. They reap what they do not sow. While this doesn't relate to every single person in the group, it does relate to a vast majority of them.

Now tell me, is it that bad if this group disappears? A group that lives off a country. Like a parasite sucking out all the nutrients. A group that continually oppresses other groups. Would it not be for the greater good for this group to be vanquished? Sure, ethically it would be wrong to kill for this purpose. But ethics are defined by man. Let's put ethics aside and consider the rationality of things. Simple logic will tell you that in order for optimal progress to occur, the good things need to be nurtured and developed while the bad need to be purged. It's like when you want to plant a flower patch. You need to nurture the flowers you want but always remove the weeds. Then you'll get a beautiful garden. So aren't these people in the group I've been describing akin to weeds? A group of people preventing the country from showing its full potential. For the sake of progress and for the greater good, isn't it justifiable to purge the country from the existance of this group?

Most would say no. It's easy to look at the basic issues surrounding the "wrongness" of killing. However, put yourself in the shoes of an oppressed group. You are born in a country where a particular group in power continually oppresses your group. People from their group get better jobs and promotions than people from your group. They can get away with murder by simple bribes. People from this group get continuous financial support from the government with little effort while you are expected to serve this government despite not receiving any assistance whatsoever from them. This group tries to impose their beliefs unto your group while you are persecuted for standing up for your beliefs. Dissent from your group is punished by sanctions and unfair legal action. All these practices not only prevent your group from going up the ladder; it prevents your country from keeping up with the other big countries. Suddenly, by some strange twist of fate (or usually military action) you are elevated to the position of leader of your country. Your people have entrusted you to move the country forward and stop the oppression. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. You can't reform or brainwash the previous oppressors to your group. What's the best way to deal with them then? Your decision: ethnic cleansing.

Ok, so this may not have been the justification behind all the instances of ethnic cleansing. However, it gives a different perspective to my argument. Is ethnic cleansing really wrong? As I said, put the legality and/or morality of killing aside. Is it wrong to purge a country of a particular group that is of no use to the country? Don't we carry out the principle all the time? A football team gets rid of players who aren't good enough. If a friend in your group can't do an assignment well and always relies on your work; wouldn't you not choose him/her as a group member next time? All corporations fire employees who underperform. Sure, this is completely different to killing. But how different is it really? The principle is the same. The ones that can't pull their weight and live off others or hold people back are removed to allow for progress to continue.

So what about ethnic cleansing? If used correctly it can serve as a tool to accelerate the laws of natural selection. Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating ethnic cleansing. I'm just trying to raise debate about the principles behind ethnic cleansing. So are these "evil" men who perpetrated ethnic cleansing wrong? Well, obviously yes. You can't just go around killing people. Think of this though. If it was not wrong to kill (or if killing was allowed if it were justifiable), would we think differently about ethnic cleansing? There's some food for thought...

Oh Danny Bhoy, Danny Bhoy, Danny Bhoy...

In case you don't know your music, the title of this post is an infusion of some of the lyrics from the Chumbawamba song Tubthumping and the name of the comedian I saw just a while ago. Danny Bhoy was just great!

I reached the Freemasons Hall about half an hour before the show. It didn't seem like many people were around so I thought it was gonna be a small audience. I did get a little worried though as not many people were there after waiting a while. So I went to the ticket counter and asked. It was then I realised that the line was actually outside. Out I went and saw the line. Problem was, I couldn't see the end of it! I had to walk quite a distance before reaching the end. Did I mention it was raining? I was pretty soaked but so was everyone else who didn't have an umbrella; basically 3/4 of the people there. Anyways, the line moved at a snail's pace and I only got in about 9pm. The place was packed! From a rough count I gathered that there were more than 600 people there. Almost a full house. The only empty seat I saw was the one next to me.

The show began and Danny Bhoy came in amidst thunderous applause. There were a few girls in the front row who managed to get a few jokes out of him about waiting in the rain and some props they brought with them. Anyways, any jokes I try to type out here won't be funny read so I won't even attempt to do so. He made fun of issues including the Scottish breakfast, the racial riots in Sydney and people's attitudes towards him. He was really animated and into his jokes. The audience was left laughing throughout the show. It was almost perfect. The only teeny-weeny drawback was that about 2 out of his uncountable array of jokes I heard before from watching the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala on TV. Even those were still updated and funnier when heard the second time around.

Needless to say, it was worth every penny. My disappointment with missing him in Melbourne last year was more than compensated for. Sure the tickets were a tad on the expensive side. Despite that, I would have been willing to pay more for this performance. Simply stellar.

Well, I'm not sure if I'll go for any other comedy acts during this Fringe festival. Akmal Saleh may be good. Whatever it is, I'll make my mind up in the coming days. If you ever get the opportunity, make sure you go to see Danny Bhoy. Believe me, he's worth it!

Just for fun 3...

Here I go again. It's been a while since I last did this though. I'm sure those who know me personally will have a little chuckle...

Your Values Profile

Loyalty: You value loyalty a fair amount. You're loyal to your friends... to a point. But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties. Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself. Honesty: You don't really value honesty. You do value getting your way, no matter what. And if a little lying is required to do that, no problem. A few white lies never hurt anyone (at least, that's what you tell yourself!) Generosity: You don't really value generosity. Your needs always come first, no matter what. And you'll possibly help someone else out... But only if it helps you in return. Humility: You don't really value humility. You don't have much to be humble about! And you might as well promote yourself, because no one else will. You're a pretty special person, and you let everyone know it. Tolerance: You value tolerance a fair amount. You are open to new cultures, beliefs, and ideas. You have very few prejudices that you're aware of. And while you are tolerant, you do stand true to what you believe.

The Five Factor Values Test

You Are 32% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind. You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different... But you may be quietly judgmental of things or people you think are wrong. You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

How Open Minded Are You?

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy: Your propensity for monogamy is medium. In general, you prefer to have only one love interest. But it's hard for you to stay devoted for too long! There's too much eye candy to keep you from wandering. Experience Level: Your experience level is medium. You probably have had a couple significant loves. And you may have even had your heart broken. But you haven't really dated a wide variety of people. Dominance: Your dominance is medium. You tend to be the one with more power. You aren't a total control freak in relationships.. But of course you don't mind getting you way! Cynicism: Your cynicism is low. You are an eternal optimist when it comes to love and romance. No matter how many times you've been hurt - you're never bitter. You believe in one true love, your perfect soulmate. And if you haven't found true love yet, you know you will soon. Independence: Your independence is medium. In relationships, you need both "me time" and "we time." You usually find it easy to be part of a couple. But occasionally you start to feel a little smothered.

The Five Variable Love Test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have low agreeableness. Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all. In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted. And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as warm and well-balanced. Overall, your true self is moody and dynamic. With friends, you seem thoughtful and interested in ideas. In love, you seem mysterious and interesting. In stressful situation, you seem like you're oblivious to the stress.

What Do People Think Of Your Face?

Scorcher...

It's supposed to be entering autumn. Yet, the heat today supposedly tops at 37 degrees. Can't really do anything in this heat. The only thing I did today so far was meet up with some colleagues to get back on track with certain work-related issues. Hopefully things turn out well. I have more than enough business to deal with.

You'll probably notice the emergence of a few new links in my sidebar. Don't get me wrong; it isn't a lame attempt at corporatising my blog. Those are just links to websites I visit most frequently. Just thought I'd share it with some of my readers if they were interested.

The vertically long banner is a link to Adventure Quest; an online RPG that I play in my free time. It's not much. You can't compare it to any MMORPG games. It's just meant to be a lunch-break type game.

Google and Friendster need no introduction. I'm a big fan of Google. Not only the web search engine but also Google Images, Google Video and Google Scholar. All have proved invaluable at different points in time.

Newgrounds is basically a Flash portal. All its content is contributed by people. Content ranges from Flash movies, games and even audio bits. A wide-array of talent is available and some are even comparable to mainstream videos. There are some great Flash series that can be followed. Since people contribute, you will find that there is new content every time you go to the page, even if you go multiple times in one day.

ESPN Soccernet is basically just a football website. It's my main source of football updates as I follow Chelsea's blazing run through the English Premier League this season. It features Live Gamecasts of matches when they are played. Of course, you don't get to watch the match itself. Nevertheless, you still get updates on the goals, cards and other action.

My dear favourite Wikipedia. Where would I be without you? As the name suggests, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. It's not just some ordinary encyclopedia though. Wikipedia is built by people. Anyone can add or edit content on the site. For example, I contributed to a page on the Students Association in my uni. You can also find info on absolutely anything on the site. A great way to fill out your free time. I usually try to think of something I wonder about. Then look for it in Wikipedia. I was able to update myself on the progress of certain Marvel comic characters such as Wolverine. Since I don't buy comics, this was a great way to answer the many questions I had. I also managed to study on history including the Crusades; things we weren't taught about in school. You can also find current affairs such as the recent Tammy NYP sex video scandal in Singapore. Obviously due to the nature of the site in which anyone can edit it; it is prone to abuse. Not to worry though. There are many mechanisms in place to prevent abuse. Suffice to say, I can spend hours diving in the sea of information contained in Wikipedia.

Well, that's the rundown of the links I've stuffed in my sidebar. If I find myself addicted to any other page I'll slot it in. Hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do!

Keep on movin'...

I think the cobwebs are starting to grow here. Things have been really busy and when I have the urge to blog, other things turn up and prevent me from doing so. Like the weekend after my last post. I fell ill due to overstraining myself with work and being in the sun too long during orientation. Got better. Can't remember what happened after that. One of the weekends we went to the Fringe Parade. The Fringe is our Adelaide Festival of Performing Arts. They've made it annual now with loads of comedy acts, theatre and musical performances. Last weekend my internet connection was down and so I couldn't blog.

So what's been going on? Mostly meetings. Meetings, meetings and more meetings. I've been going for so many meetings my daily attire is business attire. People ask me why I'm NOT wearing business attire nowadays when I dress casually rather than the other way around. In the past weeks I've also had to hand up an ethics assignment, take an MCQ test, design a governance model for the Students Association and meet up with friends who've come back from their holidays.

Anyways, I'm a little lazy to explain the going-ons in the past weeks. Probably one thing I'm happy I've done is bought a ticket to see Danny Bhoy. He's a Scottish comedian. When I went to Melbourne last year during the Melbourne Comedy Festival, he sold out weeks before his shows began. I decided it would be an opportunity I couldn't afford to miss. Unfortunately, none of my friends are going with me because they either don't want to spend the money or think they won't get the jokes because they lack English proficiency. Regardless, I'll be watching him on Sunday night.

I don't really feel like blogging much today. Just felt that I should touch base after going AWOL for so long. I'll get back to active blogging when I find the time. Hopefully there aren't any more large gaps between posts.